Summer brings new exhibits to Athenaeum

The work of two Southern California artists — Alexis Smith (in the Joseph Clayes III Gallery) and Lynn Susholtz (in the Rotunda Gallery) — will be on display June 20-July 25 at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St. The public is invited to the opening reception 6:30-8:30 p.m., Friday, June 19.

Chandlerisms by Alexis Smith

Smith will cover the gallery walls with quotations from novelist and Hollywood screenwriter Raymond Chandler collaged with her own imagery. It will not be the first time she has used the words of authors in combination with her imagery. She has produced work related to Thomas Mann, Gertrude Stein, Walt Whitman, F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Dos Passos. Smith has been working on her minimal mixed media she refers to as “Chandlerisms” since 1978 and has collected nearly 300 phrases.

Smith of Los Angeles, earned a bachelor’s degree at University of California, Irvine, and has held solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); the Brooklyn Museum; Centre Georges Pompidou; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA). Her works are in the permanent collections of numerous institutions, including MoMA, the Whitney, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the High Museum of Art, MOCA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Walker Art Center.

Smith’s work extends to large installations, such as The Snake Path that leads to the Geisel Library as part of the Stuart Collection on the UCSD campus.

The Athenaeum holds several Smith materials in its collections, including Richard Armstrong’s catalog of her Whitney show “Alexis Smith” (Rizzoli, 1991), and the artist’s books “Alone,” “Past Lives” and “Jane.”

3 Objects 3 Poisons 3 Seeds of Virtue

Local artist Lynn Susholtz draws in graphite and colored pencil on velum and rosin paper. Her art practice ranges in scale from small drawings that explore the cultural context and social histories of everyday objects to large-scale interactive environments. Susholtz employs a strong social engagement component that blends the virtual and physical community.

“I am interested in retro-techification, the intersection of ancient technologies and the repurposing of information, helping to render information and technology useless and simultaneously more meaningful,” she writes of her work.

Susholtz has lived in San Diego since arriving from Texas in 1979, and is owner/director of the art and design studio, Stone Paper Scissors, and the gallery, Art Produce, in North Park. She has also co-authored the resource book “Object Lessons, Teaching Math Through Visual Art for Teachers” (2012). Susholtz was featured in The Athenaeum’s 23rd annual Juried Show in 2014. u

IF YOU GO: Admission to the library galleries at 1008 Wall St. is free during business hours 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday; closed Sunday, Monday. (858) 454-5872. ljathenaeum.org